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Are you able to celebrate with someone when they achieve success, or are you the wet blanket type that shrouds other people’s joy? Can you congratulate someone who’s gotten a promotion, received a raise or won an event? If a competitor’s business is doing better than yours, are you congenial or are you jealous? Do you talk about successful people behind their backs in an effort to tear them down and make yourself look better?

Celebrating with others should happen more than just at birthday or anniversary parties. It is better if people are quick at noticing, honouring and celebrating the successes achieved by the people closest to them. That means being willing to pat someone else on the back when appropriate. It may mean sending words of congratulation, even when you don’t necessarily feel like it. A little praise for others now and then hurts no one and goes very far.

If you don’t feel like honouring another, you might want to ask yourself why. Maybe you’ve been hurt in the process, or maybe their success has meant you’ve suffered a loss. Someone always has to lose the race that another will win. The cost of staying angry or jealous, however, is high. Being able to celebrate with others takes courage sometimes. It means putting jealousy aside in order to act toward others as you wish they would act toward you, had you been the successful one.

It’s easy to feel puny when others around you seem to be having success. You may be struggling long and hard yourself to find success of your own. Sometimes it seems others have all the luck. It’s easy to feel threatened by the success of others too, especially if they are workmates, siblings, neighbours or competitors. You never really know just how hard a person has had to work, though, in order to achieve what they have achieved. A little congratulating might give them the boost they crave after all the hard work they’ve put in.

To be able to congratulate others means resisting the urge to compare yourself to them. Let their accomplishments be theirs alone. To be an effective cheerleader means being quick to douse any envy or sparks of jealousy, and to replace those feelings with true happiness for the other person.

It’s not always easy to be cheerleader, but it is the best way to behave in relation to others. What you do for others, you will eventually reap. If you act angry, jealous or have a habit of putting others down so that you can build yourself up, you are fooling no one. You will turn people off and possibly hurt their feelings. Isn’t it better to be well-liked? Isn’t it better to be seen as a team player instead?

We all like to receive applause. It is a tough commodity to find. Being happy for others when they succeed does take maturity and it is a trait that is seldom seen today. Why not become the gem in other’s lives by becoming the kind of person that offers the gift of praise? If you have the chance to encourage someone by applauding their work or achievements, do it. You will feel good about yourself, you will help them feel validated and you will reap good rewards.